Hello
by BellsNWhistles4Edward
Summary: phone conversation- WIP
1. Chapter 1

"Hello?"

"Edward?" Bella was unsure until she heard-

"Hey, what's goin' on? Its nice to hear your voice again," Edward's smooth voice was like mercury. The dulcet tones of his voice filled her ears and she was suddenly transported back to the summer of 1993. That was the summer he kissed her. Her world was never the same.

"Nothin' much. Its nice to talk to you again. How have you been? I heard you got married," she spoke quietly, her knee shaking with the excitement she thought she was long past feeling.

"No-well, yeah, I did, but that was over a long time ago. I actually just got out of jail-well at Christmas-but yeah…" he left her hanging. He always did that, offered just enough to make her curious and she always, always, took the bait.

"Jail, huh? That sucks. What happened?" she asked gently.

Bella was always so generous. Immediately he remembered the respect she gave him and it buoyed him and filled him with gratitude. She never imposed or was rude. She would pull the information out of him; untangling him in the process and making him feel a worthwhile man once more.

"I was being stupid and driving drunk. My girlfriend and I had a fight and I took off. Tanya called the cops and they found me and pulled me over. I just maxed out two days before Christmas," he offered the information so matter-of-fact and she supposed that it really was pretty cut-and-dry, but she felt that he deserved so much more than what his life had become.

"I'm sorry to hear that," again, gently.

"Me too. I didn't have any presents for anyone. I felt like a jerk because I just beat someone up twenty-four hours before and people were showering me with gifts; it sucked ass," he continued candidly.

She wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry so she settled for humor instead.

"Sucks to be you."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Edward exploded, "thanks, Bella, _your life sucks_," he mimicked her tone of voice and continued to chuckle as she spoke over him and continued to follow the joke.

"Well, people hand you presents and you think your life sucks, it is kinda funny," she chuckled good-naturedly.

"Yeah, sure make fun of me. That's it; have a laugh on me."

"At least we're laughing, right?

Yeah.

I've missed you. I thought you were dead.

You did?

Yeah. After your evil stepmonster told me you got married (she frowned at this and he could hear it in her voice. He felt badly for never being able to marry her. He wondered where she was at with the relationship-end of things in her life.) "she said that she couldn't give you the message and that I should just leave you alone."

"She always was a bitch. Yeah, I did get married."

"You have kids?" He was annoyed that he hadn't been able to ask the question. Thing was, he didn't really want to know. Kids were just a complication and something to pile on the responsibility that he still wasn't ready for; maybe would never be ready for.

"No, uhm, no kids. So, you married or what?" he snuck that in there before she could ask another question.

"Yep, I have three little boys, Seth, Sam and Levi."

He was quiet. She was killing his buzz. He tried to cover it but it didn't quite come across in his voice.

"Well, hey, good for you."

"Yeah. Good for me." She quoted. He was confused by the bored tone in her voice.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

"You don't sound too excited about that," Edward was unsure and so he tried to draw her out a little. "You said you were married; what's he like?"

"Who? Jacob?" Edward noticed the full first name instead of just "Jake" or some sort of nickname.

"Yeah-old Jake, what's he like?" Bella thought he must be masochistic to ask about Jacob.

"Well, Jacob is a good man. He is good to me. Doesn't drink or anything like that," she could hear the flick of Edward's lighter. "Or smoke, for that matter."

"Oh yeah? What do you guys do to relax?" Edward thought the bastard better treat her right, but he sounded boring as hell.

"Yeah, we hang out here at home or we read," said Bella.

"Read? Like books and stuff?" Edward was sure that that type of relaxation could put you to sleep, but that wasn't what he was asking. "I meant like fun stuff. What do you do for fun? Camping, hiking, you know, that sorta shit."

Bella cringed inwardly. It had been a long time since the finances were stable enough for them to actually go out anywhere or do anything.

"Yeah. We read and work around here. The house is a real fixer-upper,"

Edward tried not to let his disgust show in his voice. "So Jake's handy like that, huh?" If the man could swing a hammer, his man card remained intact, but it was hanging on by a thread.

"No, Jacob isn't exactly handy in that way. I wanted the house to get out of the rental situation we were in. I found this one and my dad is helping me renovate." Bella's face burned. When she had married Jacob she knew his parent's home was falling down around them, but hadn't known what to look for when it came to personal traits like what motivated Jacob.

"Well shit, Bella. That's-that's…" he trailed off, not knowing quite how to respond.

"Yeah. His schooling took up a lot of our time when we were first together," she was tired of the subject of her husband. "So are you still with, um, Tanya, was it?"

Edward hated the woman's name. "Yeah-no, I'm not. She friend-ed me on Facebook, and keeps after me, but she left me, a "Dear John" letter so…and besides, that ship has sailed. She sold the house we bought, sold all my stuff and my truck to pay my fines. It's over, good riddance."

"Sounds pretty final to me," Bella was sad for him, but struggled to really get the sympathy across because she was secretly pleased that he was available; rather, that there was some possibility of him being available. "I can't believe she sold all your stuff! What a wench."

Edward remembered that Bella could get pretty feisty when someone she loved was screwed over. "Yeah, she is a wench, but I was in jail and she had a house to pay for so…" He left out the part that she left him high and dry for his best friend, who was a lesbian.

"Edward, do you think," Bella hesitated. She wasn't sure what she was looking for with this man. She knew that he had loved her at one point, but wasn't sure where she stood just now.

"Yeah, Bella?" Edward's hope was piqued. He hoped she was gunna ask to see him but wasn't sure.

"Do you wanna get together and have some coffee or something?" She probably shouldn't try to get together with him. It was like walking through a field of mines; just hearing his voice evoked so many memories of their childhood together. She had recently discovered through the death of her cousin and best friend that life didn't go on forever and that there were things left that she wanted to experience. He was certainly one of them.


End file.
